PAI sells Atos stake for €545m

Ellie Pullen
21 November 2013

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PAI partners has divested a 9% stake in its portfolio company Atos, a listed French IT services provider, for €545m in a private placement.

The firm sold 8.9 million shares in Atos at €61.25 each, equivalent to a 9% stake in the company worth €545m. At the time of writing, the company's market cap stood at €5.7bn.

The firm held a 22% stake in the business prior to the divestment, according to its website.

Atos comprises Atos Origin and Siemens IT Solutions & Services (SIS). Atos Origin was established in 2000 through the merger of separate businesses Atos and Origin. In 2002, KPMG's Netherlands and UK consulting divisions were acquired by Atos Origin to form Atos Consulting. Later, Sema Group was acquired in 2004.

Atos Origin then acquired SIS from Siemens in July 2011 to form the Atos group as it stands today.

PAI was a founding shareholder of Atos when it was established via the merger of Sligos and Axime in 1997. The firm wholly owned the new entity until its flotation on the NYSE Euronext Paris.

PAI then reinvested in Atos Origin in July 2008, acquiring a 17.9% stake in the business for €450m. The firm purchased approximately 5 million shares in the company at €39 apiece, with Deutsche Bank relinquishing 5% of its stake in Atos Origin, according to unquote" data.

The PIPE deal gave Atos Origin a value of €2.8bn and made PAI the largest shareholder in the company at the time. BNP Paribas provided a debt package for the transaction.

PAI upped its stake in Atos to 22% between its initial investment and November of the same year.

Company
Headquartered in Paris, Atos has offices in 52 countries and employs 77,100 staff. The company recorded turnover of €8.8bn and an operating margin of €580m in 2012.

Atos provides a range of IT services split into three divisions: consulting and technology; systems integration, managed services and business process outsourcing; and transactional services through its Worldline subsidiary.

It caters to clients operating in the manufacturing, retail, healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, media, utilities and public sectors. Thierry Breton is the company's chairman and CEO.