Tech group Atos says Airbus dropping offer for minority stake in its Evidian arm

PARIS: French technology and digital services company Atos said on Wednesday Airbus had decided not to make an offer for a minority stake in its soon-to-be spun-off division Evidian, sending its shares down more than 15%.

“Atos takes note of Airbus’ decision to no longer pursue the discussions it initiated in February 2023, with respect to the potential acquisition of a minority stake of 29.9% in Evidian,” Atos said in a statement.

Airbus, the world’s largest planemaker, had said last month it was seeking to become the No. 1 investor Evidian, a deal that would have given it a say over the new entity, which regroups Atos’ most coveted assets such as cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers.

“Atos confirms it will, with Airbus, explore other options and pursue the work on the long-term strategic and technological partnership between Airbus and Evidian which has the potential to create significant value for both companies, with a view of submitting these for consideration to its Board of Directors,” Atos said.