Atos plunges in Paris, first shareholder Onepoint exits the capital and the board of directors

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - There is no peace for Atos on the Paris Stock Exchange. The stock of the former transalpine IT jewel recorded one of the worst performances of the day and took its decline since the start of the year to over 85 per cent. After Wednesday's shock announcement of its withdrawal from the Atos rescue operation, for which it had been chosen only a few weeks ago, Onepoint decided to exit the capital of the company in which it is the largest shareholder with 11 per cent. 'In view of this intention', its representatives on the Atos board of directors, owner David Layani himself and Helen Lee Bouygues, have resigned 'with immediate effect' from the board where they had joined at the end of February.

Chosen on 11 June to take over Atos in a deal agreed with its creditors, the consortium led by Onepoint threw in the towel on Wednesday, leaving the green light for Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to resume discussions, after his reorganisation proposal had initially been discarded. Atos has been struggling for three years in a financial crisis, triggered by heavy debt (4.8 billion at the end of 2023). The group has indicated in recent months that it needs EUR 1.1 billion in liquidity for its business in 2025-2026 and wants to massively reduce debt to save itself. Atos is one of the technological pillars of the upcoming Olympics in Paris, as well as having a strong political dimension due to its presence in the defence sector, including nuclear deterrence, so much so that the French government has come forward to take over the strategic activities related to this sector.