Atos shares edged lower in Friday morning trading, hours after the debt-laden French IT group said it had struck an agreement with a group of banks and bondholders for much-needed liquidity until it seals a definitive deal with a consortium led by shareholder Onepoint.
At 0745 GMT, Atos shares traded 2% lower at EUR1.71 after falling more than 10% in early exchanges. The stock is down 87% over the last 12 months.
Last week, Atos accepted a financial-restructuring proposal from the Onepoint-led consortium to salvage the firm, outgunning a rival bid from a group led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. However, Atos still needs to ink a definitive financial restructuring agreement with the consortium and a majority of financial creditors, and is hoping to do so the week of July 22.
Atos said late Thursday that it had reached an agreement with a group of banks and a group of bondholders on the structure of 450 million euros ($481.6 million) in interim financing and an additional tranche of facilities of EUR350 million.
The funds would keep operations running for Atos, a company with contracts in France’s military and nuclear industry that is also the cybersecurity provider for this summer’s Paris Olympics. The group has grappled with persistently high debt, mired finances and sapped investor confidence in the last few years.