France proposes acquisition of key assets from Atos

The French government has floated the idea of snapping up key assets from heavily indebted technology firm Atos in an effort to keep the company within the country.

France will look to purchase three strategic parts of Atos - super calculators for quantum computing, secure communications tech, and certain cyber security assets.

Finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that the French state had sent a non-binding letter of intent to the firm regarding the asset purchase via APE, an agency that manages France's stake in EDF and Orange, amid concerns that foreign investors could potentially take control of Atos in an upcoming restructuring of its €3.9bn debt burden.

"There are sovereign assets in Atos that must stay within the exclusive control of France," said Le Maire. "We have signalled our interest in acquiring all the strategic assets of Atos."

Atos has set a deadline of Friday for proposals from top shareholders and creditors as it looks to slash its net debt position by at least €2.4bn, something the group may require as much as €1.2bn in new equity and debt to do.

As of 1130 BST, Atos shares were 16.88% at €2.23 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com