Atos to Present Debt Plan as Onepoint Bolsters Rescue Coalition

(Bloomberg) -- Embattled French IT company Atos SE will present a debt restructuring plan on Monday, as the company’s top shareholder Onepoint seeks to build a coalition to offer an alternative rescue plan. 

Atos last week warned bondholders and banks the refinancing plan, which will be presented at 5 p.m. in Paris Monday, will likely result in the dilution of existing shareholders. A public statement is expected before the market opens on Tuesday. 

The fate of Atos is politically sensitive thanks to its ties with the nation’s military and nuclear industry. It has failed to raise money to cover €3.65 billion ($3.95 billion) of debt due by the end of next year, while talks to sell parts of its business to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EPEI and Airbus SE have failed to result in any deals. 

Onepoint said on Sunday that Paris-based investment firm Butler Industries is joining a consortium to help rescue Atos. The group is interested in “protecting and preserving all group assets,” according to a statement. 

Atos shares rose 28% as of 11:26 a.m. in Paris. They have declined 78% in the past year. 

Last week, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Atos’s strategic activities must remain under French ownership. The government’s priority is to ensure Atos’s financial stability, he told lawmakers at the National Assembly Wednesday.

Kretinsky is also weighing a renewed takeover offer for parts of Atos, depending on the result of the restructuring and refinancing plan, Bloomberg reported in February.

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