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French IT group Atos slides on nationalisation call

by AFP Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Oct 23, 2023 AFP
Shares in French IT consultancy group Atos slumped more than 10 percent on Monday after some lawmakers proposed temporarily nationalising the firm in whole or in part on national security grounds.

A week after Bertrand Meunier stepped down as chairman amid growing opposition to splitting up the firm and sale of part to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, Atos shares tumbled 13 percent to fall to an historic low of 3.97 euros.

The stock recovered slightly, but remained almost 50 percent off its year high.

Small shareholders and some politicians have criticised the planned restructuring and sale, including Kretinsky taking a stake in the Eviden unit that includes cybersecurity, supercomputers and cloud services operations.

Two amendments concerning Atos have been submitted into parliament, including one by Socialist lawmaker Philipppe Brun, who called the firm crucial to France's national security.

The planned restructuring of the group "runs the risk of a loss of sovereignty on activities such as supercomputers, security systems integration and cybersecurity," Brun was quoted as saying by the Le Parisien daily.

In August, 82 Republican lawmakers urged that Atos be kept under French stewardship, seeing its supercomputer operations as essential for nuclear test simulations and deterrence.

Last week Atos insisted the splitting of the firm into two groups was "the best available solution" but added the planned sale to Kretinsky had been postponed until the "second quarter of 2024."

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