Atos - comment

The break-up of Atos still remains an option despite management’s aim of achieving a restructuring of Atos as a whole.  Apart from the French state’s approach for a part of BDS, Kretinski is rumoured to be bidding for parts or whole (depending on which article) and potentially teaming up with Bain Capital, who own Inetum, a €4bn revenue IT services company.  Thales management also indicated on a conference call they would be interested in parts of BDS segment of Atos, depending on whether it is for sale or not.  Thales management neither confirmed nor denied if they were currently in conversation with the French state as part of the state’s approach to Atos.  

With all this speculation flying round it is extremely difficult to model what businesses will be left for bondholders and what exactly bondholders’ recoveries will ultimately be.  There is no point being the last hyena to the carcass.