The value of the day in Paris – Atos goes public, the subsidiary Evidian in the eye of Airbus

(AOF) – Atos begins the year 2023 by climbing the stock market. The group leads the SBF 120 index by more than 16% at 10.54 euros. This jump follows the information transmitted by Les Echos and Reuters on the possible acquisition of a minority stake by Airbus in the capital of Evidian, the digital and cybersecurity arm of Atos. “According to various sources, the aircraft manufacturer is in preliminary talks with Atos to acquire a minority stake in Evidian’s capital,” the French economic and financial newspaper indicated. The share of Airbus earns him 1.77% to 113 euros.

Reached by AOF on Monday, Atos spoke about this information. The French digital services company specifies that “in view of the implementation of its strategic plan, the company has entered into exploratory discussions with potential future minority shareholders in the context of the activities grouped under the name of Evidian. These discussions are not advanced enough to allow any further comments”.

Furthermore, Atos “recalls that the strategic plan presented at the Capital Market Day of June 14, 2022 provides for Atos to maintain less than 30% of the capital of the Evidian perimeter and the sale of this stake to guarantee the financing of its transformation plan “.

The group also recalls that “the company and its Board of Directors examine all the expressions of interest received in relation to the company’s social interest, and in particular to the creation of value for its shareholders, employees and customers”.

Today, Atos and its teams are fully mobilized on the progress of the separation project communicated to the market on June 14th, on schedule and which represents the group’s priority.

At the end of September 2022, Atos rejected an offer from the Onepoint group, associated with the Anglo-Saxon investment fund ICG, for a potential acquisition of Evidian for an enterprise value of 4.2 billion euros.

Evidian is Atos’ IAM (Identity and Access Management) software suite. Evidian IAM is notable for its growing presence outside the European continent, particularly in the United States and Japan.