The French parliament has adopted a measure that could see Atos nationalised. The amendment, passed by the legislative body’s Finance Commission, calls for the “creation of a ‘Nationalization of Atos’ program” and the appropriation of €70m to achieve it. Simultaneously, the French government announced an increase in its capital investment in Atos’s ‘Bull’ division. The decisions come after years of speculation about the long-term viability of the IT giant, which oversees public sector contracts on both sides of the English Channel as well as sensitive military projects for the French state.
“Victoire!” tweeted Bastien Lachaud, a French MP and member of the left-wing party La France insoumise, who originally tabled the motion considered by the Finance Commission. “This company, vital for our defence as well as French daily life, must be protected against being sold in pieces by the government.”
Atos victim to French budget debate
The measure has been adopted amid intense wrangling by French legislators over the state’s budget for 2025. Following elections in July, the country’s parliament is now roughly divided between President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble party, the left-wing New Popular Front coalition and the extreme-right National Rally. Though President Macron recently succeeded in appointing right-wing veteran politician Michel Barnier as prime minister, the chamber is currently unable to unite behind the latter’s proposal to impose swingeing budget cuts of some €41.3bn.
Atos has been caught in the middle of this debate, with the Macron administration reportedly willing to shell out €1bn for those parts of the firm overseeing projects of strategic national importance to the French state. Despite making this part-nationalisation an integral component in its overall plan to rebalance its dire finances, however, neither party could agree terms on a final price. At the time, Atos denied this was a problem. The “expiry of the offer,” said the firm, “has no impact on the current financial restructuring process.”
Recent results bode well for IT giant
Barnier’s proposed cuts to France’s public finances could, some have speculated, lead to privatisations – a prospect unlikely to gladden Atos investors hoping for more funding injections from the state. The IT giant’s most recent earnings report, however, indicates that some parts of the business are beginning to recover from its failed pivot to the cloud and revolving door of chief executives. While it posted a 4.4% drop in its third-quarter revenues, order entries improved, leading to a rise in Atos’ share price of 2%.
Read more: The fall of Atos: What went wrong? And what happens next?
