PARIS (Reuters) – Debt-laden Atos said on Monday it aimed to decide by Wednesday between two rivalling debt restructuring plans that were consistent with its conditions – one from a consortium around Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, the other from its anchor investor David Layani.
Atos’ board of directors has authorised management to work with the firm’s creditors to make sure one of the bids wins the necessary backing “by June 5, with the aim to reach a final financial restructuring agreement by July 2024”, Atos said.
The battle for the French IT consulting firm pits Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky against French businessman David Layani, who presented widely different tactics to strengthen the company’s finances.
Atos also said it was reviewing offers for its Worldgrid business unit, providing IT solutions to power generation. France’s finance minister last month said he would make sure the unit, which also works for France’s nuclear energy giant EDF, would stay ‘under French control’.
(This story has been corrected to fix the first name of investor Layani in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
Comments