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Atos’ largest shareholder, Onepoint, wants to put an end to any sale plans so that the struggling French group can get off to a good start, the president of the consulting firm, David Layani, told Le Figaro.
“We must immediately put an end to any sale project while preserving the integrity of the assets to build a New One Atos which gets off to a good start,” said David Layani, in which the company holds 11.4%, in an interview published on Sunday. of Atos.
“If we do not now base ourselves on an industrial solution which preserves all of the assets, it will be chaos and the end of Atos. BDS is a nugget. This is not the time when we should reinvent yourself and start again that you have to sell your family jewels,” he added.
Atos announced last week the end of its discussions with Airbus for the sale of its BDS (Big Data & Security) activity, plunging the IT services group further into crisis.
In a press release Atos said it had taken note of David Layani’s comments, which “do not bind the company and its Board of Directors”.
The group specifies that it will communicate on Tuesday its results for 2023, the publication of which was postponed after the end of discussions with Airbus on BDS, as well as on the next steps.
Atos has been in discussions with its banks for several weeks to negotiate a refinancing but the asset sales constituted a key element of its recovery strategy, alongside a capital increase project which was also abandoned.
David Layani hopes that after its financial reorganization, Atos will regain, within two or three years, 6% to 8% growth and margins comparable to those of its competitors.
“There will be a negotiation on a part of capitalization of debts, a part of extension of maturity, a part of arrangement of instruments to bring the leverage to an acceptable level while ensuring that the company will have the liquidity necessary for its development,” he explained to Le Figaro.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Atos shares rose 1.87% to 1.80 euros at 08:01 GMT on Monday. Since the start of the year, the share price has lost almost 75% of its value.
(Written by Kate Entringer)