Businesses worth 0.7-1.0 bln eur (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Paris, 29 Apr - The French information technology Atos said that it has received a non-binding letter of intent from the French state to acquire 100% of the advanced computing, mission-critical systems and cybersecurity products activities part of its BDS division for an indicative enterprise valuation between 700 million and 1 billion euros.

The businesses represent a turnover of circa 1 billion euros in 2023, out of a total of 1.5 billion for the BDS division as a whole.

Atos said that it "welcomes this letter of intent, which would protect the sovereign strategic imperatives of the French State." Due diligence will start shortly in view of the issuance of a confirmatory non-binding offer by early June, it added.

Atos updated the parameters of its financial restructuring framework presented on April 9.

The company said that it now needs 1.1 billion euros to fund the business over the 2024-25 period compared with 600 million previously. The funds will be provided in the form of debt and/or equity by existing stakeholders or third-party investors, while 300 million euros will come from new revolving credit facility and 300 million from additional bank guarantee lines.

It added that the target of a BB credit profile by 2026 assumes a financial leverage below 2x by year-end 2026 and implies a gross debt reduction of 3.2 billion euros compared with 2.4 billion previously estimated.

The remaining debt maturities will be extended by five years.

It added that the submission of financing proposals including new money by existing stakeholders of Atos and third-party investors was extended to May 3.

"Given the group's needs, a global financial restructuring agreement will trigger significant dilution of existing shareholders," it added.

The company still expects to reach a financial restructuring agreement with financial creditors in July.

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(RADIOCOR) 29-04-24 19:08:17 (0612) 5 NNNN