Written by Tashiro Hummel
PARIS (Reuters) – Troubled French IT company Atos needs 1.1 billion euros ($1.18 billion), almost double previous estimates, to keep the business afloat in the short term. While he said it was necessary, he also put a price tag on the French government's proposal to buy some of its major units.
Over the weekend, the French government sent a letter of intent to the struggling company, offering to buy Atos' assets that it deemed strategically important, including its advanced computing, mission-critical systems and cyber products.
Atos said on Monday that the bid aims to buy 100% of these units and is based on an indicative enterprise value of between 700 million euros and 1 billion euros.
Atos manufactures servers to protect communications for the French military and secret services, and to create supercomputers capable of processing vast amounts of data for research and the development of a nascent artificial intelligence industry.
The French government has not yet said what it will do with the sectors, which employ about 4,000 people and generate annual sales of about 900 million euros (about $962 million).
There has been speculation in French media that defense groups such as Thales and Dassault Aviation could be involved in plans to protect Athos's vital assets.
Thales and Atos declined to comment, while Dassault Aviation was not immediately available for comment.
Key partners of the Paris Olympics
Atos, which manages data and cybersecurity for the upcoming Olympics, is in the process of refinancing, which will be highly dilutive for existing shareholders.
Atos also said it needed cash of 1.1 billion euros to fund its operations from 2025 to 2025, compared with an estimate of 600 million euros in April.
Atos said the funding would be provided in the form of debt and equity by existing or new investors, who should submit proposals by May 3, with consideration for entering into a restructuring agreement in July. He added that it has become.
The company's stock price has plummeted over the past two years following a flurry of profit warnings, a revolving door of CEOs and the collapse of a potential asset sale, and the company warned in its last earnings report that it needed to raise cash needs. Ta.
Atos also said it aims to have a 'BB' credit profile by 2026. This means a total debt reduction of 3.2 billion euros compared to the previous target of 2.4 billion euros.
(1 dollar = 0.9324 euro)
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Inti Landauro)
