Onepoint withdraws from Atos restructuring talks, Kretinsky wants to rejoin

(Reuters) - French technology firm Atos said on Wednesday a consortium led by investor David Layani’s Onepoint had withdrawn from discussions on its restructuring, but that it still planned to reach a definitive agreement by July.

 

Another consortium, the EPEI group led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, which was knocked out of the running earlier this month, has sent Atos a letter informing it of its interest in rejoining talks, the company said.

 

The news, which initially sent shares in the company plunging before they surged 11.9%, is the latest in a long-running saga to rescue the IT company considered of strategic interest by the French government.

 

Just two weeks ago, the saga to take control of the company appeared settled after Layani won a bid over Kretinsky to restructure Atos’ debt, while the French government tabled a non-binding offer to buy its business units deemed strategic for France’s national security.

 

On Wednesday, the consortium made up of Onepoint, Butler Industries and Econocom confirmed the end of discussions.

 

In a separate statement, Atos said it had finalized negotiations with France’s government to protect the country’s "sovereign interests".

 

Bull SA, an Atos subsidiary, will issue to the French government a "preferred share", which grants holders of such stocks more rights than common shareholders. 

 

Atos shares were up 1.7% as of 0746 GMT.

 

(Reporting by Olivier Sorgho; Editing by Jason Neely and Jan Harvey)