(News Bulletin 247) – The share price of the digital services company collapsed on the Paris Stock Exchange as the aircraft manufacturer gave up buying the BDS division of Atos.

New disappointment for Atos, which collapses again on the stock market. The digital services company’s shares fell 19.3% around 10 a.m., after Airbus gave up buying its BDS division, which brings together cybersecurity, big data and supercomputers.

“Having carefully considered all aspects of a potential acquisition of the branch BDS has decided to no longer pursue discussions with Atos regarding this potential transaction,” the aerospace and defense group said in a succinct statement.

“Atos is analyzing the resulting situation and actively evaluating strategic alternatives which will take into account the sovereignty imperatives of the French State,” Atos responded. The group refers to its professions deemed critical by the French State such as supercomputers, an activity on which the group collaborates with the Atomic Energy Commission.

“Consequently, the company is postponing the publication of its 2023 annual results (which were to be published on March 20, Editor’s note) until the near future in order to allow it to evaluate its strategic options,” Atos also announced.

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Towards a conciliation or a safeguard?

For the digital services company, the failure of this sale increases financial tensions. The group burned through more than a billion euros of cash last year and is facing a veritable wall of debt. Atos must refinance 3.65 billion euros of loans in 2024 and 2025.

Atos had to renounce a capital increase and requested at the beginning of February the appointment of an ad hoc agent to facilitate negotiations with its creditors. The sale of BDS to Airbus should enable it to free up cash, with the acquisition price mentioned being between 1.5 billion and 1.8 billion euros. So much money that Atos will not be able to use to clean up its balance sheet.

With this new development, a conciliation procedure, which would be decided by the commercial court, or even a safeguard procedure, cannot be excluded for the group.

“The problem is that selling BDS seemed to be the only way for them to avoid the wall. The group explains that it is looking for alternatives but it will take time and these alternatives will obviously not fall from the sky,” judges a financial analyst.

“And even if potential buyers exist for Atos, they probably have an interest in waiting for the legal procedure to take place…”, he continues.

“If Atos fails to sell BDS to Airbus, a safeguard procedure will be inevitable,” several sources explain to BFM Business in a recent article.