Atos opens a new chapter with the successful closing of its
financial restructuring
Press release
Atos opens a
new chapter with the successful closing of its financial
restructuring
- All transactions of Atos’
accelerated safeguard plan have now been implemented, resulting in:
- A more sustainable capital
structure with €2.1 billion gross debt reduction
- Additional liquidity thanks to €1.6
billion new money debt and c. €145 million resulting from the
rights issue and the additional reserved capital increase
- With no debt maturities before the
end of 2029, Atos now has the resources and flexibility to execute
its mid term strategy
- Atos corporate credit rating
upgraded to B- (stable) by S&P and rated B- (stable) by
Fitch
- Atos’ share capital comprised of
179,035,979,643 shares and 179,035,979,643 theoretical voting
rights1 as a result of the share capital increases
Paris, France
– December 19, 2024 – Following its December 16, 2024
press release, Atos SE (“Atos” or
the “Company”) today announces the successful
closing of its financial restructuring, thanks to the completion of
the final steps of the accelerated safeguard plan (the
“Plan”) approved by the specialized Commercial
Court of Nanterre on October 24, 2024.
The completion of the
Plan results in particular in:
-
a €2.1 billion gross debt reduction through the equitization of
€2.9 billion (principal amount) of existing financial debts and the
repayment of €800 million interim financings with the new money
debt provided to the Company; and
-
€1.6 billion of new money debt and c. €145 million of new money
equity from the rights issue and the additional reserved capital
increase.
With no debt maturing
before the end of 2029, Atos has the resources and flexibility to
implement its mid-term strategy.
Atos Corporate credit
rating has been upgraded to B- (stable) by S&P and rated B-
(stable) by Fitch.
Philippe
Salle, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atos, said:
“The successful completion of our financial restructuring plan
ensures the continuity of Atos' activities in the best interests of
our stakeholders, including our employees and customers, and opens
an exciting new chapter for the Group. I would like to thank the
entire management team for the remarkable work they have
accomplished over the past few months.”
Jean Pierre
Mustier, Chief Executive Officer of Atos, said: “With
the closing of our financial restructuring, Atos has the financial
resources to successfully deliver a new period of industrial
development under the leadership of Philippe Salle. All our teams
are focused on providing the best possible support to our customers
through innovation and quality of service. »
Reminder on the Accelerated Safeguard
Plan
As a reminder, the operations of Atos’ financial
restructuring provided for under the Plan led in particular to:
- the €233 million
rights issue (the “Rights Issue”) which was
settled and delivered on December 10, 2024 and which resulted in a
cash contribution of c. €143 million (including the €75 million
contributed as part of the first-rank subscription guarantee for
the Rights Issue) and the equitization of claims amounting to c.
€90 million,
- the equitization
of €2.9 billion (principal amount) of existing financial debts (via
three capital increases reserved to creditors which were settled
and delivered on December 18, 2024 (the “Reserved Capital
Increases”) and including the claims converted into equity
under the second-rank subscription guarantee as part of the Rights
Issue),
- the
reinstallation in the form of reinstated debts maturing after 6
years or more of €1.95 billion of existing financial debts,
- a total of €1.75
billion of new money obtained:
- €1.6 billion of
New Preferred Financings (new money debt – including c. €60 million
of bank guarantee and €440 million RCF, of which €190 million
dedicated to meeting the needs for bank guarantees) and
- c. €145 million
of new money equity resulting from the Rights Issue (which resulted
in a cash contribution of c. €143 million mentioned above), as well
as additional voluntary cash subscriptions by the participating
creditors under the additional reserved capital increase which was
settled and delivered on December 18, 2024 (which resulted in c. €2
million of cash contributions), as provided in the Plan,
- the issue of
22,398,648,580 share subscription warrants (bons de
souscription d’actions or BSA) (the
“Warrants”).
These transactions are detailed in the Plan
available on the Company’s website (“Financial Restructuring” tab),
in the prospectus related to the Reserved Capital Increases
approved by the AMF under number 24-515 on December 11, 2024 and in
the prospectus related to the Rights Issue approved by the AMF
under number 24-474 on November 7, 2024 and the supplement to this
prospectus approved by the AMF under number 24-501 on November 25,
2024.
Effective completion of the Reserved
Capital Increases for creditors under the Plan
The settlement and
delivery and the admission to trading on the regulated market of
Euronext Paris (“Euronext Paris”) of the
115,860,932,658 new shares (the “New Shares”)
issued under the three Reserved Capital Increases provided for
under the Plan, described in the press releases published by Atos
on 12 and 16 December 2024, have been completed on December 18,
2024.
As a reminder, the
Reserved Capital Increases have notably resulted in the
equitization of approximately 2.9 billion euros (principal amount)
of Atos’ existing financial debt (and including the debt converted
into equity under the second-rank subscription guarantee as part of
the Rights Issue).
The Reserved Capital
Increases are the last capital increases planned in the Plan
following the €233 million Rights Issue completed on December 10,
2024.
The New Shares are of the same class as the
Company’s existing ordinary shares and are subject to all the
provisions of the Company’s articles of association. They carry all
rights attached and are entitled, as from their issue date, to all
distributions decided by the Company as from that date. They are
immediately assimilated with the existing shares of the Company
already traded on Euronext Paris and are tradable, as from that
date, on the same trading line under the same ISIN code
FR0000051732.
The completion of the Reserved Capital Increases
has been followed by the issue of 22,398,648,580 Warrants,
exercisable for a period of 36 months, giving the right to
subscribe for one new ordinary share per Warrant, allocated free of
charge to certain Participating Creditors (as defined below) in
accordance with the Plan, in consideration for subscription and
guarantee commitments in respect of the new preferred financings
made prior to the judgment opening the accelerated safeguard
proceedings of Atos. No application has been made for the Warrants
to be admitted to trading on a regulated market.
The Restructuring Effective Date (as this term
is defined in the Plan) has therefore occurred on December 18,
2024.
Impact of the Reserved Capital Increases
and the potential exercise of all the Warrants on the Atos’
shareholding structure
As a result of the completion of the Reserved
Capital Increases, the Company’s share capital amounts to
€17,903,597.9643 and is comprised of 179,035,979,643 shares with a
par value of €0.0001 each.
Based on public information available to date,
the allocation of the share capital of the Company following the
Reserved Capital Increases is set out as below:
Shareholders |
% of share capital |
% of voting rights |
Participating Creditors2 |
74.4% |
74.4% |
Non-Participating Creditors |
15.2% |
15.2% |
Employees3 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Board of Directors4 |
1.4% |
1.4% |
Treasury shares |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Free Float |
9.0% |
9.0% |
TOTAL |
100% |
100% |
By way of illustration, following the completion
of the Reserved Capital Increases and assuming that all the
Warrants are exercised (it being specified that the Warrants may be
exercised until the end of a period of 36 months following their
settlement-delivery date), the Company’s share capital would amount
to 20,143,462.8223 and would be comprised of 201,434,628,223 shares
with a par value of €0.0001 each.
Based on public information available to date,
the allocation of the share capital of the Company following the
Reserved Capital Increases and assuming the exercise of all the
Warrants would be as follows:
Shareholders |
% of share capital |
% of voting rights |
Participating Creditors5 |
77.3% |
77.3% |
Non-Participating Creditors |
13.5% |
13.5% |
Employees3 |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Board of Directors4 |
1.2% |
1.2% |
Treasury shares |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Free Float |
8.0% |
8.0% |
TOTAL |
100% |
100% |
Any thresholds crossings (upwards or downwards)
by shareholders of the Company, following the settlement-delivery
of the Reserved Capital Increases and the exercise of the Warrants,
shall, as the case may be, be subject to applicable notifications
(pursuant to regulations or the articles of association) and will
be communicated to the market pursuant to applicable
regulations.
New preferred financings and debt
reinstallation
As provided for under
the Plan, the Company has obtained a total amount of €1.6 billion
of new preferred financings (the “New Preferred
Financings”) from banks and bondholders that had committed
to fund and/or backstop these financings (respectively the
“Participating Banks” and the
“Participating Bondholders”, together the
“Participating Creditors”) consisting of:
- €0.80 billion of new bonds provided
by Participating Bondholders and rated B+ by S&P and BB- by
Fitch; and
- €0.80 billion provided by
Participating Banks including:
- €0.30 billion of new term
loan;
- €0.44 billion of a new revolving
credit facility (RCF) (including €0.19 billion dedicated to meeting
the needs for bank guarantees); and
- €0.06 billion of new bank
guarantees.
In accordance with the
Plan, the New Preferred Financings have been partially allocated to
the repayment of the €800 million interim financings that had been
provided to the Company before the approval of the Plan in order to
provide the necessary liquidity to fund the business until close of
the financial restructuring (the “Interim
Financings”), as previously described by the Company.
The maturity of the
New Preferred Financings is set on December 2029.
In addition, as part
of the implementation of the Plan, €1.95 billion of existing
financial debts have been reinstalled in the form of new secured
debts maturing after 6 years or more, in the following debt
instruments:
- €1.59 billion euros of 1.5L
reinstated debt (subordinated to the New Preferred Financings but
senior to the 2L reinstated debt) allocated to Participating
Creditors and creditors who participated to the Interim Financings,
divided between:
- a 1.5L reinstated term loan
(€0.75bn), and
- 1.5L reinstated notes (€0.84bn,
rated CCC by S&P and CCC+ by Fitch);
And
- €0.36 billion euros of 2L
reinstated debt allocated to non-Participating Creditors, divided
between
- a 2L reinstated term loan
(€0.22bn), and
- 2L reinstated notes (€0.14bn, rated
CCC by S&P and CCC by Fitch).
Implementation of the financial
restructuring plan results in a massive issue of new shares and a
substantial dilution of Atos existing shareholders, that could have
a very unfavorable impact on the market price of the
share
As stated by Atos in its previous communications
and in light of the recent volatility on the Atos stock, it is
reminded that a massive number of new shares has been issued under
the Reserved Capital Increases resulting in a substantial dilution
of the existing shareholders as a result of the equitization of c.
€3 billion of old debt and the potential exercise of the Warrants,
resulting in a c. 90.8% ownership by creditors.
For indicative purposes only, a shareholder
holding 1% of the Company’s share capital6 would see its
stake fall (on a diluted basis), post completion of the Reserved
Capital Increases, to 0.35% of the Company's share capital and to
0.31% post exercise of all the Warrants7.
As some creditors of the Company, who have not
supported or voted in favor of the Plan, have become holders of new
shares, a significant number of shares could be traded after the
completion of the financial restructuring capital increases, or
such trades could be anticipated by the market, which could have an
unfavorable impact on the market price of the share.
Forthcoming events
Atos’ Annual General Meeting of its shareholders
convened to approve the statutory and consolidated financial
statements for the year ending December 31, 2023 will take place on
January 31, 2025.
Atos will issue its full year 2024 results on
March 5, 2025.
*
Atos SE confirms that information that could be
qualified as inside information within the meaning of Regulation
No. 596/2014 of 16 April 2014 on market abuse and that may have
been given on a confidential basis to its financial creditors has
been published to the market, either in the past or in the context
of this press release, with the aim of reestablishing equal access
to information relating to the Atos Group between the
investors.
*
***
Disclaimer
This document contains
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties,
including references, concerning the Group’s expected growth and
profitability in the future which may significantly impact the
expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the
control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market
conditions or competitors’ behaviors. Any forward-looking
statements made in this document are statements about Atos’s
beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such.
Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to
Atos’s plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future
revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that
is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ
from those described in this document due to a number of risks and
uncertainties that are described within the 2023 Universal
Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés
Financiers (AMF) on May 24, 2024 under the registration number
D.24-0429, as updated by chapter 2 “Risk factors” of the first
amendment to Atos' 2023 universal registration document and by
chapter 2 “Risk factors” of the second amendment to Atos' 2023
universal registration document, and the half-year report filed
with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on August 6, 2024.
Atos does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation
or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above
except as otherwise required by law.
This document does not contain or constitute an offer of Atos’s
shares for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in Atos’s
shares in France, the United States of America or any other
jurisdiction. This document includes information on specific
transactions that shall be considered as projects only. In
particular, any decision relating to the information or projects
mentioned in this document and their terms and conditions will only
be made after the ongoing in-depth analysis considering tax, legal,
operational, finance, HR and all other relevant aspects have been
completed and will be subject to general market conditions and
other customary conditions, including governance bodies and
shareholders’ approval as well as appropriate processes with the
relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with
applicable laws .
About
Atos
Atos is a global
leader in digital transformation with circa 82,000 employees and
annual revenue of circa €10 billion. European number one in
cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group
provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 69
countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos
is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients.
Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea) and listed on Euronext
Paris.
The purpose of
Atos is to help design the future of the information space.
Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge,
education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute
to the development of scientific and technological excellence.
Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees,
and members of societies at large to live, work and develop
sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.
Contacts
Investor
relations:
David Pierre-Kahn | investors@atos.net | +33 6 28 51 45 96
Sofiane El Amri | investors@atos.net | +33 6 29 34 85 67
Individual
shareholders: 0805 65 00 75
Press contact: globalprteam@atos.net
1 Representing 179,035,902,331
exercisable voting rights (it being specified that number of
exercisable voting rights = number of theoretical voting rights (or
total number of voting rights attached to shares) – shares without
voting rights, such as treasury shares).
2 For indicative purposes only and pending publication of the
declarations of legal thresholds’ crossings, it is anticipated that
on the settlement-delivery date of the Reserved Capital Increases,
(i) the funds managed by D.E. Shaw hold 8.56% of the Company's
share capital and voting rights, (ii) the funds managed by Tresidor
hold 6.24% of the Company's share capital and voting rights and
(iii) the funds managed by ING Bank N.V. (through its French
subsidiary) hold 5.34% of the Company's share capital and voting
rights.
3 Information on employee share ownership is given as at
30 November 2024.
4 Information concerning the
shareholding of the members of the Board of Directors is given on
the basis of the information known to the Company as at 18 December
2024. As a reminder, Mr Philippe Salle, Chairman of the Board of
Directors, participated in Atos’ Rights Issue by subscribing to
2,432,432,432 new shares for a total amount of €9 million, in
accordance with his subscription commitment.
5 For indicative purposes only and pending
publication of the declarations of legal thresholds’ crossings, it
is anticipated that on the settlement-delivery date of the Reserved
Capital Increases and assuming exercise of all the Warrants, (i)
the funds managed by D.E. Shaw hold 9.08% of the Company's share
capital and voting rights, (ii) the funds managed by Tresidor hold
6.35% of the Company's share capital and voting right, (iii) the
funds managed by Deutsche Bank AG holds 5.00% of the Company’s
share capital and voting rights and (iv) the funds managed by ING
Bank N.V. (through its French subsidiary) hold 5.09% of the
Company's share capital and voting rights.
6 i.e. 631,750,469 shares, based on the number of shares
comprising the Company's share capital at December 11, 2024.
7 Calculated on the basis of the number of shares
comprising the Company's share capital on December 11, 2024.
- PR - Atos - Successful closing of the financial restructuring -
19 December 2024
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