PARIS (Reuters) – French technology consultancy Atos is in talks with Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky about the possible sale of its Tech Foundations business, Le Monde reported on Wednesday.
The discussions are taking place while Atos is in non-exclusive talks with European aerospace group Airbus, which has offered to buy a 29.9% stake in Atos’ soon to be spun off division Evidian, which groups assets such as its cybersecurity division BDS and supercomputers.
“The management of Atos is not just talking to Airbus. According to our information, the management is also talking with Daniel Kretinsky … who for his part is interested in the group’s historic business of IT services Tech Foundations,” the French newspaper said.
Kretinsky holds a minority stake in Le Monde.
Spokespeople for Kretinsky and Atos declined to comment.
In October, Atos said it had been approached by several players interested in buying Tech Foundations, which groups activities the company defines as approaching maturity, such as data centres and business process outsourcing.
Kretinsky, who built one of Europe’s largest energy groups through more than a decade of deals, has been diversifying and scouring retail, media and other areas for investments.
Last week, shares in French retailer Fnac Darty rose sharply after a media report said Kretinsky would be ready to buy the 24% stake in the company held by top shareholder Ceconomy, the German electronics retailer.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Matthieu Rosemain; Editing by Mark Potter)
